| Team | Mens 1 |
| Opponent | Finchfield |
| Date | September 7, 2024 |
| Result | Win |
| Score | 5 – 2 |
The 1s welcomed a strong Finchfield team, who were well drilled and played eye-pleasing hockey. To add to the challenge, they had a new formation to apply for the season, without the coach on the sides due to unavailability.
Despite this, an early goal from a swift counter attack, featuring a threaded assist from Sam Van Vurren and a reverse stick finish from Jake Connelly, put us ahead.
The game was often end to end, with frequent subs and new positions being trialed disrupting the flow. The next goal came from Fairfield, a classic drive down the baseline before cutting it back.
After that, two strikes from Rich Owen added to the tally, finding the bottom corner from the edge of the D.
Fairford were gifted a short corner which they capitalised on but the player who gave it away made up for it shortly after with a thunderous forehand into the top left corner – capitalising on an effective press high up the pitch.
Finally, Richie provided the assist to give Sam Van Vuuren a well deserved goal towards the end.
The two Fairfield goals came from an effective counter attack after we’d committed too many forward, and a relatively avoidable short corner awarded for picking up the ball in the D. Points to work on but overall a strong performance offensively and defensively, barring these errors.
Thanks to the umpires and Finchfield for travelling.
This game helps build the excitment for what this bolstered 1s squad is capable of this season. Preseason games vs. Barford Tigers and Royal Wootton Basset (who play in the league above) will progressively test how far we’ve come.
